The Current Rules of Nomic mit Tens

Last Modified 5 October 1997


Immutable Rules



Rule 101. Obey The Rules
All players must always abide by all the rules then in effect, in the form in which they are then in effect, and interpreted in accordance with currently existing game custom.  Until such time as they are legally transmuted, Rules 101-115 are immutable, and Rules 201-219 are mutable.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 101



Rule 102. The Speaker and Voters
Each Player shall be either a Voter or the Speaker; no Player may be both at the same time.  There will always be one Speaker.  The term "Player" refers to any Voter or the Speaker.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 102



Rule 103. What Is A Rule Change?
A rule change must be one of the following: (1) the enactment repeal, or amendment of a mutable rule; (2) the enactment, repeal, or amendment of an amendment; or (3) the transmutation of an immutable rule into a mutable rule, or vice versa.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 103



Rule 104. Adopting Proposals
All proposals made in the proper way shall be voted on.  Three conditions must be satisfied for a proposal to be adopted: (1) a quorum must have been achieved; (2) the required number of votes must have been cast in favor of the proposal; and (3) the prescribed voting period must have elapsed or all players have cast a vote, whichever is first.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 104



Rule 105. Proposals Must Be Written Down
Any proposed rule change must be written down (or otherwise communicated in print media) before it is voted on.  If adopted, it must guide play in the form in which it was voted on.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 105



Rule 106. When Proposals Can Take Effect
A rule change will take effect when either the prescribed voting period has elapsed, or all players have cast their vote, whichever is first.  No rule change may have retroactive application.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 106



Rule 107. Numbering Proposals
The Speaker shall give each proposed rule change an ordinal number for reference.  The numbers shall begin with 301, and each  rule change proposed in the proper way shall receive the next successive ordinal, whether or not the proposal is adopted.  The effective ordinal number of a rule is the ordinal number of the most recent change to that rule.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 107



Rule 108. Mutable/Immutable Inconsistencies
Mutable rules that are inconsistent in some way with some immutable rule (except by proposing to transmute it) are wholly void and without effect.  They do not implicitly transmute immutable rules into mutable rules and at the same time amend them.  Rule changes that transmute immutable rules into mutable rules will be effective only if they explicitly state their transmuting effect.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 108



Rule 109. Making Proposals
The proper way to make a proposal is to send it by electronic mail to the current Speaker.  The Speaker will then distribute the proposal to all Players.  The prescribed voting period begins at the moment that the proposal is distributed by the Speaker.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 109



Rule 110. Winning The Game
The state of affairs that constitutes winning the game may not be changed from achieving n points to any other state of affairs.  However, the magnitude of n and the means of earning points may be changed, and rules that establish a winner when play cannot be continued may be enacted and (while mutable) be amended or repealed.  The winner of the last game shall become the new Speaker for the next game, assuming all current duties allocated to the Speaker.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 110



Rule 111. Forfeiting The Game
A player always has the option to forfeit the game rather than continue to play or incur a game penalty.  No penalty worse than losing, in the judgement of the player to incur it, may be imposed.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 111



Rule 112. At Least One Mutable Rule
There must always be at least one mutable rule.  The adoption of rule changes must never become completely inpermissible.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 112



Rule 113. Rule Changes That Affect Rule Changing Rules
Rule changes that affect rules needed to allow or apply rule changes are as permissible as other rule changes.  Even rule changes that amend or repeal their own authority are permissible.  No rule change is impermissible solely on account of the self-reference or self-application of a rule.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 113



Rule 114. Voting Options
Players may vote either for or against any proposal during the prescribed voting period.  Voters should send their vote by electronic mail to the Speaker before the end of the voting period.  Players who do not vote within the prescribed period shall be deemed to have abstained.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 114



Rule 115. Permissibility Of The Unprohibited
Whatever is not explicitly prohibited or regulated by a rule is permitted and unregulated, with the sole exception of changing the rules, which is permitted only when a rule or set of rules explicitly or implicitly permits it.

History: Initial Immutable Rule 115




Mutable Rules



Rule 201. Quorum
Quorum is defined to be 50% of the active registered players.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 201



Rule 203. Required Number Of Votes
The number of votes required to pass a proposal is two-thirds of the votes legally cast within the prescribed voting period.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 203



Rule 204. One Player One Vote
Each player has exactly one vote.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 204



Rule 205. The Prescribed Voting Period
The prescribed voting period on a proposal is three days, starting from the moment that the proposal is distributed by the Speaker.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 205



Rule 206. When Proposals Take Effect
An adopted proposal takes effect at the moment that the  prescribed voting period ends.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 206



Rule 207. Scoring When A Proposal Is Adopted
When a proposed rule change is adopted, those players who voted against it receive 5 points each.  A player whose proposed rule change is adopted also receives 10 points.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 207



Rule 208. Scoring When A Proposal Is Defeated
When a proposed rule change is defeated, the player who proposed it loses 10 points.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 208



Rule 209. Required Number Of Points To Win
The winner is the first player to achieve a score of 100 points.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 209



Rule 210. Resolving Conflicts
If two or more mutable rules conflict with one another, or if two or more immutable rules conflict with one another, then the rule with the lowest effective ordinal number takes precedence.  If at least one of the rules in conflict explicitly says of itself that it defers to another rule (or type of rule) or takes precedence over another rule (or type of rule), then such provisions shall supercede the numerical method for determining precedence.  If two or more rules claim to take precedence over one another, or to defer to one another, then the numerical method must again govern.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 210



Rule 211. Invoking Judgement
Any player who has a question or complaint about any matter concerning the laws and their interpretation may email their statement to the Speaker, who will then distribute it to the rest of the Voters.  A call for judgment is then incurred on that statement.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 211



Rule 212. Selecting A Judge
When Judgment has been called for, a Judge is randomly selected from among the other registered players by the Speaker.  The player selected has 3 days in which to accept or refuse the appointment by posting to the Speaker.  Any player who does not respond to selection in 3 days shall be penalized 10 points, and is deemed to have refused appointment.  If a selected player refuses appointment, then a further random selection is made from the remaining pool.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 212



Rule 213. Delivering Judgment
Having accepted the appointment, a Judge has exactly one week in which to post an official Judgment.  A Judge who fails to deliver Judgment within that period is penalized 10 points.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 213



Rule 214. Three Possible Judgments
There are only three possible Judgments: (1) True; (2) False; or (3) Undecided.  A Judgment may be accompanied by reasons and arguments, but any such reasons and arguments form no part of the official Judgment itself.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 214



Rule 215. Judgments Must Accord With The Rules
All Judgments must be in accordance with all the rules then in effect.  When the rules are silent, inconsistent, or unclear on the statement in question, however, then the Judge shall consider currently existing game custom and the spirit of the game in reaching a decision.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 215



Rule 216. Judgments Are Not Rules
If a statement on which Judgment has been called is Judged to be true, and that Judgment is not overruled, it does not thereby become a rule, or any part of a rule.  It merely becomes an explicit part of currently accepted game custom.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 216



Rule 217. Overturning Judgments
At any time in the week following the posting of a Judgment of "true" or "false", any player may propose that the Judgment be overruled, i.e., changed to "undecided".  If that proposal is adopted, according to whatever rules are currently in effect for the adoption of proposals, then the Judgment is overruled, and the Judge who made it penalized 20 points.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 217



Rule 218. Registered Players
A player is any person who is registered as a player.  No person may register as a player more than once concurrently.  Anyone is allowed to observe the game and parrticipate in discussion of any issue, but no person who is not a player may make a proposal, or vote on any proposal, or call for judgment, or judge, or score  points, or win the game.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 218



Rule 219. Winning By Paradox
If the rules are changed so that further play is impossible, or if the legality of some action cannot be determined with finality, or if some action appears equally legal and illegal, then a player may call for judgement on a statement to that effect.  If the statement is judged true, and the judgement is not overruled, then the player who called for judgement is declared the winner of the game.   This rule takes precedence over every other rule for determining the winner of the game.

History: Initial Mutable Rule 219



Rule 220. Name of this Nomic
The name of this Nomic is "Nomic Mit Tens".

History: Initial Mutable Rule 220



Rule 301. Clarafication rule
In proposals, all text in brackets ("[ ]") is not part of the proposal, and is only used for clarification. This is called the "Clarafication rule."

History: Adopted in prehistory by Proposal 301



Rule 303. Yes, the initials have been chosen like that for a reason.
In this nomic there are two forms of currency, "Hofstadter" (H), and Egberts (E).  Egberts are worth 1/100th of 1 Hofstadter.  Uses of Hs and Es are to be determined later.  Anyone who votes for this proposal receives 5H. This is called "Yes, the initials have been chosen like that for a reason."

History: Adopted in prehistory by Proposal 303



Rule 304. Hey! Name your children!
All rules must be given titles in the proposals.  If a rule is not given a title, the proposer loses 5 points, and the current speaker then chooses a name for the rule.  This is named "Hey!  Name your children!"

History: Adopted in prehistory by Proposal 304



Rule 305. 'Ay!  Name your stupid kids and make them come here!
Rules may be referred to either by their number or their name.  This is called "'Ay!  Name your stupid kids and make them come here!"

History: Adopted in prehistory by Proposal 305



Rule 306. Sub-Games
Players may create sub-games within this Nomic. The rules of a given sub-game are whatever the creator of that game decides, although the creator cannot arbitrarily change the rules of the sub-game during the sub-game without the approval of two-thirds of the players. Only Players, as defined by rule #102, may participate in sub-games, and no Player may join a sub-game against his or her will, although Players may not leave sub-games except as described in the rules to that sub-game. Prizes having value in this Nomic may be awarded by sub-games, according to the rules of the sub-game, but the total number of points, units of currency, and all other such things
having value in this Nomic held by all Players combined participating in the sub-game cannot be altered by the sub-game. [so basically you can transfer points/currency from player to player, but you can't generate new units of points or currency]

History: Adopted in prehistory by Proposal 306